Ahead of G20, Xi-Modi may meet at BRICS summit next week

China on Saturday indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will have a bilateral meeting in South Africa when they attend the BRICS leaders' summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24. The BRICS grouping comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. If the in-person meeting takes place, it will be their first scheduled meeting since the border standoff started in May 2020. The standoff has impacted bilateral ties, with minimal diplomatic engagement between the two countries over the last three years. The two leaders did have a brief encounter at the dinner in Bali, Indonesia, during…